Get Your Serve On!

It’s already July, which means the mission team is back from their trip to Tennessee. Along with the fun, excitement, and work, I believe that God did some great work in our students and leaders lives. Each of the three worksites we were at were unique and offered many different lessons. One worksite lesson stands out.
At one of our sites, the homeowner was rarely, maybe never, at her house. As our students and adults worked to improve her living conditions, there was no one to interact with, no one to get to know. The crew at the site did an incredible amount of work at this site to help this woman out, yet there was no one share it with.
Which leads to a very important question in our faith: “Are we able to serve when no one is looking?” This is really a question of motivation. What motivates us to serve? To help out around the house? To reach out to the unloved? Is it an allowance? Is it the words of gratitude that the homeowner or parents might say? Do we serve hoping that someone will notice our good works?
We are called to serve. Period. We are called to be like Christ, who humbled himself to be a servant. Picture the Son of God on his knees washing our feet. Why? Not because of money, or attention, or status...but because of love.
Throughout July, are you willing to serve when no one is looking? Can you bless others without worrying whether you’ll receive a blessing? Let’s get our serve on!

Blowout...

What's the deal with us Christians? How come we sometimes act so unchrist-like? My wife works in a Christian workplace where the workers can be rude, gossipping, inconsiderate (and the worst) unprofessional. Of course this isn't everyone. Even in ministry, the people that I have the hardest time dealing with are my good christian "brothers and sisters." Why is that?

On our mission trip last week, one of the tires on our trailer blew out about 2 hours into the trip. We had been cruising along rather nicely, but the blowout really slow us down. Our actions are sometimes like that. We'll be moving right along in our faith and then someone is rude to us, or does something spiteful. It can be a major blowout because we often don't see it coming.

While I don't want to over spiritualize this...God calls us to do better. If we are reflecting Him. We are called to love...called to forgive...called to not cause someone else to stumble.

Lord, help me each day to reflect your love and glory. Mold me into the man, husband, and servant that you desire me to be. Help me to forgive. Help me to love others as myself. Help me to be more like you. Amen.

Tennessee Living!

It's been awhile, but for once I have a good excuse for not writing. I have been in Tennessee for a week, leading our youth mission team. We were in Oneida, TN for a week of home repair. Boy, did we get a lot done. We did two porches, two additions, and got 3/4 of a house sided. All that in 4 days. It was a great to see our students learn so much, and learn about serving.

One lesson learned was how we react when we serve and nobody "seems" to notice. at our one site, the homeowner was not there. So the work was done with no interaction. But we are called to serve whether or not we get a thank-you, a smile, or even the blessing of someones presence. That was a valuable lesson to learn.

It was also humbling. Humility was our theme for the week. By and large, we are not a humble people. But when you do work like we did, you become humbled. This trip, like the ones before, taught be many lessons about myself and God. Probably in the upcoming days I will share some of those lessons.

Until then...live to serve!

Heading to Tennessee

Wow...it's been awhile since I have written anything. I leave tomorrow with 18 students and 8 leaders to Tennessee for our annual Mission Trip. I am excited. We will be doing some much needed repairs on some homes this week. We'll be working with three families. It is such a good opportunity for those who are participating. I pray that things go well, because our students haven't had the best attitudes in preparation for the week.

Spent last weekend back in Pennsylvania for my friend Ashley's wedding. She looked beautiful...and had a great day. It was good to see some friends from High School. Also got to spend time with my parents, sister, and saw the Pittsburgh Pirates play. (If you haven't, go to PNC Park, it is worth admission)

Not much else to say. Just hoping to be asleep by 10:00 p.m. I have to be up around 3:45 a.m. Fun!